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Sponsor Spotlight: Recovery Sports Grill

This weekend’s Sponsor Spotlight features the Recovery Sports Grill, one of the most popular sports restaurants in the area. They actually have eight locations including five locally (Albany, Amsterdam, Colonie, Rotterdam and Troy), one in Verona, NY, Westhampton, NJ and also Norfolk, VA.

The Recovery Sports Grill restaurants are owned and operated by BBL Hospitality, and we spoke with the Sports Information Director John Palmeri to ask him a few questions.

John is a big Giants fan!

Whose idea was it to start a chain of restaurants?

Don Led Duke (former BBL chairman and owner, who passed away in September 2010) had the vision to create a family friendly sports restaurant with enough TV’s to ensure no one misses the game they want to see.

Where did the name “Recovery Sports Grill” come from?

The original restaurant that opened in Albany on New Scotland Avenue is across from Albany Medical Center. For this reason, Don thought it would be a fun idea to call it “Recovery Room.” As we have expanded to locations that are not close to hospitals, we decided we should adjust the name a bit to fit any location. The name “Recovery Sports Grill” was born just before we opened in Verona, NY and Troy, NY.

Each Recovery Sports Grill has it’s own theme correct? Who decides the theme of the restaurant?

The theme of each restaurant is actually decided on by the town or city well before we get there. We try to determine which sports and teams the local residents are most interested in. I wind up doing a bunch of research before going into a new location but at the end of the day, it’s the local customer that has already determined the theme for us.

How much planning does it take to decorate an entire restaurant?

The planning takes a substantial amount of time. We try to meet with the different youth organizations, high schools, and colleges in the area. We then try to collect photos and memorabilia pertinent to those schools and organizations. Additionally, we need to find enough pictures to load up the walls and order the fatheads, helmets, banners, pennants, etc…. The most cumbersome part of the decorating process is framing each one of those photos!

How long does it take?

The pre-work and collection of memorabilia can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. We try to get the actual decorating of the restaurant done in 3-4 days.

Where do you find all the pictures and sports memorabilia?

We reach out to all the local youth organizations, schools, minor and professional teams in the area. They usually supply us with lots of good stuff. Additionally, I travel to a couple sports memorabilia conventions throughout the year and try to keep our inventory of pictures stocked at all times.

Do you have any valuable items in these restaurants?

YES…

Your favorite piece of memorabilia from one of the restaurants is…..

In Rotterdam we were able to get our hands on a painting of the 1954 Little League World Series Champions, Rotterdam Little League. One of the members on that team, Billy Connors, went on to work in the NY Yankees organization for years. In fact, I believe he is still there today.

We’ve held numerous events at their Recovery Sports Grill locations, including the kick off event for our Championship Trophy Tour last October. SouthPaw is a frequent visitor!

Here are some interior photos of their location in Rotterdam, located at 1925 Curry Road. We were there this past week for FOX Sports 980 and Recovery Sports Grill’s Barstool Banner. They were holding a fundraiser for Carman Little League as well.

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